Lay figure



Aug. 22, 1950 N. E. BINELLI ETAL LAY FIGURE Filed Jan. 22, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORJ' a; M mate/1V5: M

AGENT Aug. 22, 1950 N. E. BINELLI EI'AL LAY FIGURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 22, 1947 m R a m. a w

lNVENTORs j/Maho E.MM Mame .M

BY Emma,

/ AGENT 1950 N. E. BINELLI EI'AL 2,519,995

LAY FIGURE Filed Jan. 22, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS AM 5.5114114; M

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Patented Aug. 22, 1950 UNITED 1 ,s TAT ES PATENT or F me LAY FIGURE Natalia Esteban Binelli and Modesta Ei-nilia Binelli, Buenos-Aires, Argentina Application January 22, 1947, Serial No. 723584 In-Argentina January 24, 1946 1 The .present invention relates to -a lay figure and more particularly to-za' lay figure of which the lateral portions located between the breast and the back-are-contraotible or collapsible on to a=centra1 fixedlportion so'asto enable a reduc tion to be made in the perimeter corresponding to the 1ine 9f:the shoulders and bust, down to a sizeclose to'that-of the waistline of the lay figure. Lay figures as -hitherto used by tailors and dressmakers had the portion corresponding to the thorax of the human body constructed as a rigid whole and generally cushioned or upholstered.

'=I he .steps which a dressmakerhad to perform in making a garment were,.first, to cut out the several constituent portions of the garment -according to. the pattern, then to .place such portions onithelay figure and .join the corresponding edges of the several seams by means of pins. The ideal arrangement would havebeen if thereupon 'thegarment 'thus assembled 'could havebeen removed from the lay figure without having to remove the pins connecting the several margins of the seams. However, up to the present such a, coursehas'been impossible inalmost all cases, since, particularly in the case of womens garmerits such garments must generally be narrow at' the Waist which'has a smallerlp'erimeter than the .portion corresponding to the shoulders or bust, for which 'reason .it was obviously not possibleto remove the assembled 'garmentifrom the lay figure. Hence it was necessary"to'mark'with chalkthe'points o'f connection'of the seams provisionally formed bythe pins; as well'as the width of "the hem of one margin of the"seam on the other; thereupon, to disassemble the garment, remove the several component portions from the lay figure and'reassemble the garment -on a cutting table or other "suitable support.

Due to the factthat the lineof chalk has a 'certain thickness, for the reassembly of the aforementioned component parts 'on' a table, the services 'ofan expert are required since small disp'lacementso'i the seams le'adto faults which are clearly visible*on'ce"-the garment has be-e finished. The garment in the making, aifter be- 'ing reassembled, isStitched. Before' th'e seams are definitely'sewn together,'the person for wh'om the garment is intended must tryit onto-check such mistakes -in the joining of the seams as may have been made duringthe-re'assemblyof the garment. The garment cannot be tried on the layfi'gur'eforthereasons above set iorth, that is to say, due to the tract *thatlthe perimeter of the waist .linelis too small for it*to*pass 'over:the shoulders :of "the day figure. On :the other "hand,

8 Claims. 01, 223-68) a living person can try the g'arment onbecaus'e such person may contract and/or displac'e'iorwardl y his or her shoulders whereby to reduce the spread thereof. When womenare 'conce'rned', a-hunching together' 'o'f the shoulders also reduces the perimeter of the bust-line.

With the lay fig'ure in accordance with' the p'resen'tinvention, the difficulties'=encountered withcoriventional figures are overcome byin'clusion in the novel construetion of articulations which permit *the shoulders and bust t'o be actuated so as "to reduce the perimeter thereof in imitation "of the movements perio'rmed' by' th'e human body for contracting said parts,-

Consequently, the present ihveritionconsis'ts essentially :in a lay figure having a body portion which includes at least 'a portion correspendii'ig substantially to a human'trunk inwhich the patts c'orresp onding to' the iside portionsextending from the waist line to the shoulders are contractable or collapsible, whereby the required reduction in perimeter of the lay figure is obtainable 'so a's to permit'both the fitting on and the removal of the corresponding garment.

'Fr'o'm'the foregoing, it will be seen'tha't the present invention 'has a number of 'o'b'j ects one of the principal 'obj ects being to --pr'ovide' a ncvel zlay figure capable of imitating the movements of the humantbody for hunchinglu'pthe-shoulders and the bust.

Another object is to provide an eilicientlay figure which shall be simple to construct, 'easy to manage and of relativ'elyllow 'c'o'st; :so-la's 'to place it within reach of the small dressmaker.

'A further object (if the present inventionis to allow ofthe garmentswhichihave'been a'ssembled on thelay figure to be removed therefrom without first disassembling the provisional seams ima'de in'the garment.

Another object is to enable the garment to be fittedonto the lay figure asimany'times asmay be necessary during the making thereof, for the correction of any defects which mayoccur :during the :making .of the garment.

-;A.still :iurther object is "to enable finished garments tobe' placedpn thelay figure f'or exhibition purposes whereby, due to the adjustability :oi the perimeter Sol? the shoulders and bust it is .possible it'o obtain a perfect fit of the garment the lay figure. In this way the 'layfigure'will display the original iormand shape 'of the garment and the latte-r will not require correction to adapt it to the shape of thellay figure by the use of either pins or other known fmeans.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof which has been illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the lay figure in its normal condition, the broken lines representing the contracted or collapsed position thereof.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the frame-work of the lay figure from which the actuating mechanism and the outer soft covering have been omitted.

Figure 3 is a front elevation partly in section of the actuating mechanism of the lay figure. certain parts of the frame work thereof having likewise been shown.

Figure 4 is a side elevation partly in section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 of the lay figure of the invention, in which parts of the actuating mechanism and parts of the frame work of the lay figure have been omitted.

Figure 5 is a detail of the actuating mechanism partly in longitudinal section.

Fig. 6 is a plan view taken on the plane 6-6 of Fig. 5.

In the several figures, the same reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts. Devices or elements comprising several parts are indicated by reference letters. As may be seen in the drawings and particularly in Figs. 1 and 4, a is the body of the lay figure, the framework of which may be of cardboard, wood, sheet-metal or any other suitable material, the whole being covered on the outside with a quilted cloth I formed by an outside layer 2, an inner, stronger layer made of commoner material 3, and cotton or the like 4 which fills the space between said two layers so that the whole forms a quilted assembly or cover I.

The framework b of the lay figure a illustrated in Fig, 2 forms one of the main features of the present invention. The several component parts thereof must be so shaped and arranged as to permit the perimeter of the shoulders 53 and 54 and of the bust of the lay figure to be reduced to about the size of the waist line. To this end a roughly frusto-conical portion 5 is used to form the part corresponding to the abdomen of the human body. The major end 6 or base of the frusto-conical part 5 corresponds more or less to the height of the iliac crest, that is to say a little higher than the fork of the human body. The smaller end 7 indicated by a chain line corresponds to the waist. From said smaller end the several parts of the frame forming the trunk c of the lay figure a extend. These parts are designed to imitate as far as possible the constitution of the skeleton of the human body. Thus, in the rear portion a member 8 extends which represents the spine and thus forms the portion sustaining the back 9 of the lay figure a. Said member 8 is of width substantially greater than that of the human spine. In the upper part corresponding to the collarbones said member 8 is curved forwardly forming roughly a spherical triangle [0 which represents the breast bone and part of the ribs which extend therefrom, the vertex ll of said triangle being downwardly directed and terminating at approximately the height of the xiphoid appendage of the sternum. In the upper part of the member 3 where the curves l2 and [2' are formed, the neck portion l3 rises, which portion has in the forward or front part thereof three holes [4, I5 and I6, the last named being of greater diameter than the other two. The upper edge IT has a notch IB which may be semicircular in shape and is arranged to lie in substantially the same vertical transverse plane as the central hole i6. For proper operation of the lay figure it according to the present invention, it is an essential condition that the longitudinal edges l9 and 20 of the rear portion 2| of the member 8 be vertical and substantially parallel.

From the small end I of the frusto-conical member 5 there likewise extends, but in the front part thereof, another member 22 having roughly the form of a spherical triangle, the apex 23 of which is at approximately the height of the umbilicus in the human body.

In Fig. 4 may be clearly seen the curvatures of the back which the member 8 must have in order to imitate as closely as possible the shape of a human back when at rest. It should be added that the rear part of the neck portion has another :perforation 25 the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained.

Referring now again to Fig. 2, it may be seen therefrom that the side members 24 and 25 likewise extend upwardly from the small end 1. Since the side members 24 and 25 are substantiall equal and symmetrical, reference will now only be made to the side member 25, it being understood that all the features about to be explained hold as well for the side member 24.

The side members do not extend only over the spaces comprised between the front portion formed by a part of the abdoment and the breast, and the back, but likewise form the framework of the two breasts and the part corresponding to the acromial and caracoid processes which form part of the shoulder. In order to facilitate the understanding of the exact shape of each of the two side members the member 25 has been subdivided into three zones namely the front zone e included between the front edge 21 and the auxiliary dotted line 28, the flank zone properly so called 6, formed between the auxiliary dotted line 28 and the false edge 29 formed between the so called flank zone e and the rear zone I, said rear zone being defined by said edge 29 and the other true edge 30 indicated by a chain line, said third portion or rear zone 1 forming a part of the back of the lay figure.

The front edge 21 has a lower portion extending from the angle 3| of the. spherical triangle 22 and having a curve 32 which is complementary to the side 33 of the spherical triangle 22 and is upwardly directed. Said curved portion 32 is in the part corresponding to the bust shaped like the curve of the intersection of the breast with the flat portion corresponding approximately to the breast-bone, that is to say the space 34 between the two edges 32 of the two side members 25 and 24' would correspond to the hollow which separates the breasts. The point 35 indicates approximately the apex of the cone formed by the breast.

The rear edge 30 likewise originates at the height of the smaller end I as a complementary line of the curve 20 of member 8.

It is necessary that both the line 32 and the line 30 form at their origins curves which are complementary to their respective members 8 and 22 and there must be an intermediate space 36 and 31 respectively between said members in order that when the shoulders 53 and 54 are brought into contracted or collapsed position the movable side *members do notoverlap the fixed members, as this would occasion :the formation of :bumpsor the catching of materials and other difiiculties .in the proper operation of the lay figure a.

The actuating mechanism 9 of :the lay figure-a illustrated in Fig. 3 is of simple construction and easy tooperate. It consists of two cross .members 33 and 39 which-aretransversally disposed as may be seen in Fig, 4, the member 38 being arranged at the level of the small end I and the member 39 below the base of the neck I3. On the side faces 40 and AI of the cross member 38 and the side faces 42 and 43 of the cross member 39, lateral reinforcements 44 and 45 respectively are mounted, the reinforcement 45 being omitted from Fig. 4 for clearness. Said reinforcements 4'4 and 45 likewise form supports for compression springs and 41 respectively. Said springs 45 and il are secured at their ends 48 and 19 by means of clamps 50 to the reinforcements 4d and 45 respectively. The other ends 5| and'52 of the springs 46 and 4-1 freely engage the inner face of the side members 25 and 24 at the level of the shoulders 53 and 54 of the lay figure a. In order to prevent downward displacement or slipping of the ends 51 and 52 of the springs 46 and 4? stop screws 55 and 56 are screwed into the shoulders 53 and 54 at a'suitable height in the side members 25 and 24.

A pin 5? passes vertically from below upwardly through the ross member 39, the end 58 of said pin projecting therebeyond for a distance at least equal to twice the diameter *of the arbor 52. The head of the pin 59 does not directly engage the lower face of the cross member 39 but a washer 65, preferably of metal, is interposed in order to prevent the head 59 of the pin 5'! from biting into the wood of the cross member 39. lhe arbor 52 has a central perforation -53 in which the free portion of the pin 57: fits so that the arbor 62 may rotate on said pin 5?. the lower end 6% of said arbor 62 resting on the upper face-55 of the cross member 39..

To enable the side members 25 and 24 to be moved to a contracted or-collapsed position, each has a tensicnmember or strap 65 and 61 secured to it byscrews $13 at the level of the shoulders 53 and 54. The other ends tiiand ls! of said straps or tension members 65 and t'i are suitably secured to thearbor so that on rotation of said arbor 62 the tension members E35 and 31 are wrapped therearound, thereby exerting a pull on the shoulders and 55- to bring the's'ame closer to the arborti. To effect this operation it is necessary to-overcome the thrust of the springs 46 and 61.

On the edge ll of the neck i3 rests a flange 13 of the cover H (see Fig. 5) provided witha central bore l2 and a frusto-conical portion M which fits into the interior of the neck l3. The arbor 62 passes through the central bore and has mounted thereon immediately below the lower edge 5 of the cover ll a ratchet wheel 16 which is securedin position on the arbor 62 by means cf'a keyll Returning now to the cover ll it maybe seen "that immediately below "the flange "#3 there is a bush 3t which passes through the frusto-conical portion it up to the central bore 12, the end 8| projecting beyond the flange 73. Said end 81 engages in the notch is of the neck l3. Diametrically opposite the perforation corresponding to the bush but slightlylower down there is another perforation 82 which registers with the hole 26 when the cover "5% is in .position'ion the neck 62 we provide a knob 9% A3. The (cover H is secured to the neck 1-3 by means of a fixing'screw 83 which passes through the hole 26 in the neck I3 and is screwed into the tapped bore 32 of the cover -ll. For locking the ratchet wheel 13 we providea 'U shapedetent 8%, the. arm 85 being inserted in the bush 8!] whereas the other arm Sipasses through a plate Bl provided with a central perforation 88 registering with the hole 16 of the neck :13, said plate being fixed to the neck 53 by two fixing screws 83 and all (see Fig. l) passing through the holes i i and; of neck 53. Close to the end of the arm -ilfi a collar it is secured, and a compression spring $2 is mounted between said collar E8 and the "inner face 93 of the neck 13, said spring maintaining the detent is properly so called, which is pointed, 'in'engagement with the ratchet wheel It. In order to actuatetlie detent .84 the part 93 which is accessible from outside is pulled, the detent 3 3 returning to its original position after release'of the effort applied to overcome-the For rotating thear-bor concentrically mounted on the upper end Si? or" said arbor 92. One of thecheapest and most practical ways of securing force of the spring 2'32.

the knob 95 to the arbor 62 is shown in Figs. .3 "and. 5. It consists in providing the upperyend 91 of the-arbor with a vertical diametral incision and in mounting on the knob 96 a plate as which divides the central recess 95 of said knob 96 into two halves, plate being inserted in the incision as shown in the aforementioned figures. In

this way the knob be rapidly mounted and dismounted and if required may be replaced asfor example by a wax head or the like.

Obviously such a head may not be used for actuating the arbor 62 but it is very convenient to be able to fit such a head should it be desired to use the lay figure for display purposes. It will however be understood that the several members of the actuating mechanism can be constructed in many other ways, once-theiinventive idea herein disclosed has been understood.

The method of actuating the lay figure. is very simple. For this purpose, it should be recalled that the object is to obtain a narrowing of the shoulder and bust width of the lay figure :so as to be able to clothe and unclothe the same with ggarments which are a close fit at the waist. In

other words, the maximum perimeter which generally corresponds to the shoulders must be reducible to at least that of the waist.

the lay-figure a and it will be seen that the shoulders 53 and'fi i enter into the curves [2 and 12 of the member 8. In the broken line or collapsed position or" the lay figure three foldsare chiefly caused, two, namely the folds =98. and t9, owing to the contraction of :the side members, and a central fold 3% which is the remainder of the distance that is to say it represents the distance between the breasts when a woman hunches upher'shoulders and thus displaces the breasts forwardly. Since :the part corresponding to the edges 32, that is to say the partcorresponding to the breasts of the framework, are completely free, the --imitation breasts may i f necessary, bepushed in'whereby the perimeter corre spending to the bust is still further reduced. On completion of the operation of clothing or unclothing the lay figure, it is merely necessary to give a slight turn to the knob 96 in the direction for collapsing the side members, draw out the detent 84 for which purpose a finger is hooked into the part 95 of the detent, and allow the springs 46 and 41 to act to restore the side members to theiroriginal positions, so that the lay figure a will again be-in the position indicated in the full lines in Fig. 1.

As a modification of the invention herein described it may be said that by means of a mechanism similar to that used for actuating the side members the breasts may also be collapsed if this is thought convenient. In such event the second operating mechanism may be independent or may be designed to act in combination with the mechanism herein described so that a single control means would be required for actuating both moving parts. It will be obvious that in such event the breast actuating springs would have to be located perpendicularly to the springs 45 and 41.

If the lay figure is to be used for display purposes the knob 46 may, as has already been indicated, be replaced by a head of wax or other similar material. Furthermore, arms may be attached to the parts corresponding to the shoulders, to which end the shoulders would have to be provided with plates, to which the arms may be coupled in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. Since the lay figure illustrated is hollow, parts corresponding to the lower extremities may be inserted into the lower portion of the lay figure to which end the cross member 38 may be utilized as a fixing means.

From the foregoing description, it will be clear that the present invention is capable of a large number of applications from the point of view of working thereon or using the same for display purposes.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that in carrying this invention into practice we may make certain modifications as regards details of construction and form without however departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. A one-piece lay-figure of resilient material comprising at least a part corresponding substantially to the human trunk, said part consisting of a waist portion having integral therewith two members of unbroken continuity with each of said members defining a flank portion, a partial shoulder portion and a half-chest portion, said half-chest portion extending transversely of the figure into close proximity of the vertical median plane thereof, said waist portion having also at its rear part an integral unbroken centrally disposed member extending upwardly for a distance substantially equal to the height of the back of the trunk involved and terminating at its end remote from the waist portion in an integral forwardly and downwardly bent portion of substantially spherical triangular shape having a free downwardly directed vertex situated above, but normally spaced away from said breast portions.

2. A one-piece lay-figure of resilient material comprising at least a part corresponding substantially to the human trunk, said part consisting of a waist portion having integral therewith two members of unbroken continuity, each or" said members defining a flank portion, and a half-chest portion, said half-chest portion ex.-

tending transversely of the figure into close prox imity to the vertical median plane thereof, said waist portion having also at its rear part an integral unbroken'centrally disposed member extending upwardly for a distance substantially equal to the height of the back of the trunk involved.

3. A one-piece lay figure of resilient material comprising at least a part corresponding substantially to the human trunk, said part consisting of a waist portion having integral therewith two members of unbroken continuity, each of said members defining a flank portion, and a halichest portion, said half-chest portion extending transversely of the figure into close proximity to the vertical median plane thereof, said waist portion having also at its rear part an integral unbroken centrally disposed member extending upwardly for a distance substantially equal to the back of the trunk involved and terminating at its end remote from the waist portion in an integral forwardly and downwardly curved portion of substantially spherical triangular shape having a free downwardly directed vertex situated above but normally spaced away from said breast portions.

4. A one-piece lay-figure of resilient material comprising in combination at least one part corresponding substantially to the human trunk, said part consisting of a waist portion having integral therewith two members of unbroken continuity, each of said members defining a flank portion, and a half-chest portion, said half-chest portion extending transversely of the figure into close proximity to the vertical median plane thereof, said waist portion having also at its rear part an integral unbroken centrally disposed member extending upwardly for a distance substantially equal to the height of the back of the trunk involved; and a quilted cloth cover upon the whole of said lay-figure consisting of an outside layer, an inner layer of relatively tougher material than that of the outside layer, and a filler intermediate the outside and inner layers.

5. A lay-figure of resilient material comprising a waist portion; a one-piece back portion extending upwardly from the upper rear edge of said waist portion at a distance substantially equal to the back of a human trunk; and two oppositely arranged one-piece side portions, each of said side portions extending upwardly from one upper side edge of said waist portion and including forwardly curved breast portions, the adjacent marginal edges of said forwardly curved breast portions of said one-piece side portions defining a space therebetween, and each marginal edge of the one-piece back portion and the corresponding rear marginal edge of each of said side portions defining another space therebetween.

6., A lay-figure of resilient material comprising a waist portion; a one-piece back portion extending upwardly from the upper rear edge of said waist portion at a distance substantially equal to the back of a human trunk; two oppositely arranged one-piece side portions, each of said side portions extending upwardly from one upper side edge of said waist portion and including forwardly curved breast portions, the adjacent marginal edges of said forwardly curved breast portions of said one-piece side portions defining a space therebetween, and each marginal edge of the one-piece back portion and the corresponding rear marginal edge of each of said side portions defining another space therebetween; and means for turning said one-piece side portions substantially about the upper side edges of said waist portion toward each other so that said rear marginal edges of said one-piece side members are moved toward said marginal edges of said one-piece back portion and said adjacent marginal edges of said forwardly curved breast portions are moved toward each other.

7. A lay-figure of resilient material comprising a waist portion; a one-piece back portion extending upwardly from the upper rear edge of said waist portion at a distance substantially equal to the back of a human trunk; two oppositely arranged one-piece side portions, each of said side portions extending upwardly from one upper side edge of said waist portion and including forwardly curved breast portions, the adjacent marginal edges of said forwardly curved breast portions of said one-piece side .portio-ns defining a space therebetween, and each marginal edge of the one-piece back portion and the corresponding rear marginal edge of each of said side portions defining another space therebetween; and means for turning said one-piece side portions substantially about the upper side edges of said waist portion away from each other so that said rear marginal edges of said one-piece side members are moved away from said marginal edges of said one-piece back portion and said adjacent marginal edges of said forwardly curved breas'tporti-ons are moved away from each other.

it defining a space therebetween, and each marginal edge of the one-piece back portion and the corresponding rear marginal edge of each of said side portions defining another space therebetween; first means for turning said one-piece side portions substantially about the upper side edges of said waist portion away from each other so that said rear marginal edges of said onepiece side members are moved away from said marginal edges of said one-piece back portion and said adjacent marginal edges of said forwardly curved breast .portions are moved away from each other; and second means for turning said one-piece side portions substantially about the upper side edges of said waist portion toward each other so that said rear marginal edges of said one-piece side members are moved toward said marginal edges of said one-piece back portion and said adjacent marginal edges of said forwardly curved breast portions are moved toward each other.

NATALIO ESTEBAN BINELLI. MODES'IA EMILIA BINELLI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 624,799 Haueis May 9, 1899 737,175 Ufford Aug. 25, 1903 921,184 Ufford May 11, 1909 952,377 Stein Mar. 15, 1910 1,221,550 Luery Apr. 3, 1917 1,447,372 Bailey Mar. 6, 1923 1,905,202 Wolf Apr. 25, 1933 2,005,399 Sterling June 18, 1935 2,136,888 Pellegrini Nov. 15, 1938 2,273,744 Weinstein Feb. 17, 1942 2,367,171 Kroll Jan. 9, 1945 

